DWF Special Feature: Bartholomew Korbyn’s Dreamer Series

Introduction

Well my friends, to introduce myself first, my name is Bartholomew Korbyn and I have taken up the simple task of writing about many an inspiration in my humble life, and inspiration, dreams and their importance in the bigger picture in many of the lives of you, my friends, reading these words. As the first step this set of articles will focus on the importance of dreaming and its connection to the arts and will continue with a journey through the realm of storytelling, to conclude in my own take on the charms and life of being a writer.

I hope you enjoy these words of mine and take something along for the ride.

We Dream, We Do

To get the ball rolling let us say that life is made up of two things, dreaming and doing. People tend to fall into the same two groups as well, the dreamers and the doers. The doers declare themselves the nemesis of the dreamers who in their stern denial stick to their own little world of dreams. Or so the story goes.

As often the case, stories divert from the path of truth in many ways. Doing in of itself is a loop, because if you only do in your life, you never break free from your bonds and chains. Said bonds and chains are paradoxically your own doing. Do it for the money, do it for your parents, do it for yourself… The act of doing can be tricky as it can easily fall into a loop of constant action without thought of what that action actually does for the betterment of your own existence. Dreams, on the other hand, break the wheel and lead towards improvement. Dreams are the essence of betterment because unlike actions, they defy simple logic and are most often aimed at the betterment of one’s own soul. Hence, the dream and the action should be consequent and not isolated from one another. Only together can these two forces shape life and make life better.

Dreams have been called many things over the ages. In times of darkness they were the Devil, in times of enlightenment they were inspiration, sometimes they were unwanted, sometimes even feared, but they were always there, shaping the doings of man, one step at a time. Without dreams we would lack so many things we take for granted today. We would have no electricity, no running water, no computers, and many other similar things. Nevertheless, the realm which is most comforting to the dreamer are the arts. It is within the arts that we find tangible dreams.

“You must have the Devil in you to succeed in any of the Arts.” – Voltaire

The grandeur of art is only matched by its adhering dreams. Upon gazing at a visual work of art we can almost imagine the dream of artist themselves. We can step into their world and take a stroll down the visualization of dreams. When we read a book we can become a part of that world and when we listen to beautiful music we feel what the artist felt. It is in the arts that dreaming and doing conjoin into a visible entity that is understandable to all. Art is universal and even the written word, when in one’s own native tongue, remains of the same value.

We do not need excessive knowledge of art in order to feel it. We do not need to know anything about the artist in order to understand them. And we certainly do not need to be a part of the artwork to appreciate it.

All we have to do is close our eyes and become one with the dream.

Epilogue

So my friends, the first step has been taken and since the focus is the arts, it will remain so in the second step. Next time, we will look at storytelling and how that special aspect of everyday life and professional writing is linked with dreams.